Your Website is Scaring Customers Away. 5 Easy Ways to Fix It.

It is estimated that online shoppers will abandon $1.79 trillion worth of goods in their online carts. The experts at Ripen eCommerce share 5 easy ways to ensure your customers make it through the checkout process.

Staff editor Kasey Wehrum has written for Inc. magazine on subjects ranging from the businesses behind professional bull riding to gadget inventor and father of the infomercial, Ron Popeil. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Worth, Budget Travel, and on MSNBC.com. He lives in Brooklyn.

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Don’t you hate it when your online customers abandon their shopping carts before checkout? Well, you and everyone else: Only a third of online shoppers make it through checkout without abandoning items. That stats are truly staggering: This year, online shoppers will abandon $1.79 trillion worth of goods. 67 percent of all online shoppers will abandon items in their shopping cart and that number jumps to 97 percent if those shoppers are using a mobile device. The problem may lie in how you move people through checkout. The good news is, that’s easier to fix than you think.

Here’s where things go wrong (and how to fix them)

1. Your Checkout button is hard to find.

The Fix: Don’t be subtle with your call-to-action buttons-;that is, the Add to Cart and Start Checkout buttons. Boost their size, and make their color stand out. Shopping-cart abandonment drops 33 percent with large and direct call-to-action buttons.

2. Shoppers question the safety of their personal info.

The Fix: Make sure the info about your site’s security is easily visible--if possible, include the icons of your security suppliers. The value of a shopper’s cart increases 16 percent when shoppers know their personal information is secure.

3. Getting through the checkout process takes multiple clicks.

The Fix: Streamline the checkout process by eliminating links and exit points during the final steps of the sale. There is a 12 percent increase in conversion rate with reduced navigation on checkout pages.

4. Shoppers are required to create an account before checking out.

The Fix: Allow users to check out as a guest at the beginning of the process. You can always ask them to create an account after the sale. Conversion rates increase 45 percent when guest checkout is available.

5. Your return policy is buried in the fine print.

The Fix: Set up an affixed or pop-up window with a rundown of your return information. Sixty-three percent of customers view the return policy before making a purchase.

Don’t Give Up on the Ones Who Got Away

An abandoned cart doesn’t necessarily mean your customer is no longer interested. Here are two ways to lure shoppers back to complete their purchases:

1. Send a reminder email: When done right, personalized, retargeted email reminders can generate an average of $17.90 per email sent.

2. Offer free shipping: 77% of consumers say they would come back if offered free shipping.